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New Releases For Sale/Distro Updates / Out Now: Private Anarchy - "Central Planning" LP

« on: August 06, 2019, 05:21:21 PM »

https://roundbalerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/central-planning

Second album in as many years of high-concept, low-budget loner "punk". A sound for hypochondriacs, Marxists, pursuers of beauty, the isolated. NOT FOR COWARDS AND DULLARDS.

From the label: "We are thrilled to be issuing the debut vinyl release from Private Anarchy, the solo art-punk project of Clay Kolbinger (Maths Balance Volumes, Termite Acropolis). His previous eponymous cassette on Round Bale Recordings found its way into Marc Masters’ Best Cassette Releases of 2017 list for his Hi-Bias column on Bandcamp where he wrote, “Coursing with wiry riffs, rattling beats, and deadpan singing, the debut tape by Private Anarchy (aka Madison, WI’s Clay Kolbinger) echoes the fiery racket of many post-punk forebears. In other words, you could say Private Anarchy sounds like the Fall, Swell Maps, and lots of bands who sound like those bands. But there’s something idiosyncratic about Kolbinger’s bent geometry that’s harder to pin down. It’s not so hard to feel its effects though: the 11 tracks here all carry the insular DIY genius that often inhabits basements, attics, and garages, with Kolbinger banging away as if music is his only source of heat.” On Central Planning, Kolbinger further expands upon this skewed framework, introducing a more elastic vocal approach and a more experimental edge to the production. But, the basic formula is still intact: you’ll hear rapid-fire minimalist punk songs that feature buoyant rhythms and dueling guitar parts performed with jittery exactness. It’s a DIY sound that begs to make its way out of the basement, and with this larger LP edition, we hope that you’ll invite a slice of Private Anarchy into your own life."

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New Releases For Sale/Distro Updates / Out now: PRIVATE ANARCHY s/t CS (WI "art" punk)

« on: September 05, 2017, 04:19:50 PM »

Listen/order here:

https://roundbalerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/private-anarchy

"When not capturing the sounds of everyday bric-a-brac for his tape collage duo Maths Balance Volumes or his solo project Termite Acropolis, Clay Kolbinger has been holed up in his Madison bunker for the past couple of years honing his personalized take on the rock idiom. Recording virtually every part on his own, Private Anarchy?s eponymous debut documents Kolbinger?s efforts in an 11-track, 25-minute blast of finely crafted, D.I.Y. art-punk precision that connects the dots of virtually every worthwhile sub-underground shakedown from Manchester to Madison of the past five decades. The release brings to mind The Fall in places with its cryptic lyrics and tautly rhythmic playing, and Swell Maps in others with its loose form and primitive experimentation. But, make no mistake; this is entirely Kolbinger?s contemporary loner vision devised outside of any pseudo social media posturing. It?s his Private Anarchy. And we don?t feel the least bit hyperbolic dubbing this a future D.I.Y. punk classic."

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Non-Music Shit / Re: List the 3 Worst Places You Have Been To

« on: September 02, 2015, 07:31:41 PM »

Hard to pick just three, but:

Holly Springs, MS
Nitro, WV
Billings, MT

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Music Shit / Re: What Are You Listening To And What Do You Have To Say About it? PART VI

« on: December 29, 2014, 04:04:36 PM »

sean mccann - 'music for private ensemble'. grabbed this after hearing some enticing samples online, not really doing that much for me as a whole. it's kind of ineffectual and pretentious - there really isn't much meat to these 'compositions'. and the moments when he incorporates gestures at odds with the rest of the album - a little reichy percussion here, some lambkiny grunting there - are quite grating...

mark lane - 'who's really listening?'. us minimal synth from the mid-80s. after getting obsessed with john foxx's 'metamatic' earlier this year, i've been searching for things with a similar sound that hit as hard as that record. so far no success, but this is pretty close. pretty unusual record for its milieu and catchy songs all through. the smooth sax solo that drops in halfway through the ultra-bleak first track is a great what-the-fuck moment. if anyone has good recommendations, private or major label, for this kind of music i'd love to hear them...

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Music Shit / Re: Do you guys fuck with genre distinctions in your collection

« on: August 21, 2014, 06:46:28 AM »

i break it down like -

reggae/calypso
catch-all latin section [cuban, colombian, etc]
non-anglo traditional music, folkways and etc
soul/funk/disco
jazz
punk
'weird 80s' - art rock, synth pop, etc
psych
experimental/electronic/20th c. classical
'classic' and indie rock
post-revival folk and singer-songwriter
prewar folk and blues
new arrivals/unsorted

i don't sort within those sections, my collection is small enough that i can still find stuff with relative ease...

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Non-Music Shit / Re: scariest movie ever made?

« on: July 24, 2014, 06:03:28 AM »

Funny games. Obv not the remake. Tense as fuck. Breaks the third wall and gets away with it.

this and the piano teacher were the first things i thought of. not horror in the conventional sense but very scary nonetheless. the last scene of the piano teacher still makes me shudder when i think about it, and it's been 10 years since i've seen the movie...

kill list and peckinpah's straw dogs are two other great scary-but-not-horror movies

as far as modern horror genre movies are concerned, i'll go to bat for grave encounters. it's not cerebral and not super-original, but is surprisingly scary. it's kind of like blair witch meets the descent meets house of leaves. on netflix and definitely worth a watch.

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Music Shit / Re: What Are You Listening To And What Do You Have To Say About it? PART VI

« on: May 20, 2014, 06:18:57 AM »

Pearls Before Swine, Balaklava LP

Haven't heard Plague Year though.

Been a minute since I've heard that one, but I remember it sounding pretty much exactly like his 70s records, and being very good.

Recent plays:

Lou Reed - The Blue Mask. Finally coming around to his solo stuff. This one is incredible. Is there anything in his catalog equal to it? Have already explored: Transformer, New York, Berlin.

Flow - S/T. Jazz/country-rock fusion on CTI(?), mastered by Rudy Van Gelder(?). Very bland songwriting, & surprisingly inept mixing/engineering.

Afrique - Soul Makossa. Early 70s jazz funk. I think I might be accumulating too many records of this type.

Mayo Thompson - Corky's Debt. Pure genius; I've played this a million times and will never get sick of it.

Cold Sun - Dark Shadows. Ditto.

Can Am Des Puig - The Book of AM. First-time listen. Some truly beautiful moments. A bit LARPy at other points; luckily my tolerance for that sort of thing is pretty high. Will have to investigate further.

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Music Shit / Re: BRUNCH ROCK

« on: January 27, 2014, 08:06:12 AM »

isn't all this shit just elevator music at this point? i don't really equate it with a certain brunch population, this is shit you hear in mall shopping experiences, commercials, whatever.

Yeah, I've always referred to this stuff as "car commercial music".

Like the op, I'm also forced to deal with brunch people (I like "polaroid people" here, after Kim Fowley) professionally. His experience regarding what older music they typically ask for is uncannily similar to mine - Fleetwood Mac, Billy Joel, & Nina Simone are all OTM. I'd add Sinatra & Marvin Gaye as well, just to name two.

Brunch rap: A Tribe Called Quest. Perhaps the only truly brunch rappers out there, at least in my experience.

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Music Shit / Re: Artists you have the most records by.

« on: January 27, 2014, 07:25:38 AM »

Without checking, I think #1 for me is Shadow Ring/solo Lambkin and Goss. That was intentional. #2 I think is somehow Pharoah Sanders?? Just one of those dudes whose stuff is good/uncommon enough that I'll buy it every time I see it for a buck or two, even though it's not my main shit & is all ultimately kind of samey-sounding. See also: Morton Subotnick.

Typing all that out makes me sound like a dude that eats a lot of plain brown rice. Not strictly the case. I do love a lot of basic baby boomer dinosaur shit as well, I just can't bring myself to acquire those records unless they're free or close to it.

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Music Shit / Re: Horrific Songs

« on: October 31, 2013, 07:31:42 PM »

Scott Walker, "The Cockfighter," "The Electrician."

Yes. "The Cockfighter" came to mind soon after I made this thread. I would love to be able to hear that one again for the first time.

"The Electrician" is pretty scary too - supposedly about some CIA torture specialist, right?

Lotta stuff mentioned here that I don't think is particularly horrific, lotta stuff I need to check. That Specials song really surprised me - glad I heard it once, but never want to again!

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Music Shit / Horrific Songs

« on: October 31, 2013, 07:17:11 AM »

In honor of Halloween (but also because I'm pretty into this sort of thing in general), I thought it would be interesting to attempt to identify some songs that are truly "horrific". They're few and far between in my experience, even though horrific imagery is the stock in trade of countless bands. I think that for a song to be truly horrific it should a) have lyrics that imply horror, but don't spell everything out and b) have some sort of abrupt change (a particular sound or tempo shift, for instance) that scares, surprises, or unsettles the listener. A pronounced narrative progression (lyrically & musically) is also helpful (& is present in all the examples I've listed below) but I suppose not completely necessary. A few that make the grade, in my opinion:

-The Fall: "Impression of J. Temperance", "Jawbone & the Air Rifle", "In the Park", "Hard Life in Country", and especially "Spectre vs. Rector". They understood horror better than any band I've yet encountered.

-Suicide: "Frankie Teardrop" (obvious but borderline example, as it's pretty explicit)

-Jan Dukes de Grey: "Mice and Rats in the Loft"

-Mad River: "The War Goes On". This, for me, is THE archetypal horrific song. A must-hear if you haven't; bear in mind that it's pretty long, and that you need to stick it out to the end to get the full effect.

Beyond the above I'm drawing a blank. I'd love it if someone could name some other songs that have a similar vibe. Or: what music is horrific to you, and why?

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Non-Music Shit / Re: Comix / Graphic Novels / Etc.

« on: October 23, 2013, 09:36:53 AM »

Agree w/ previous posts re. Burns & L&R being snooze-inducing, and Sandman, Preacher, and The Invisibles being worth it (if you're prepared to give up weeks of your life).

A few recentish things not yet mentioned that I'd recommend:

David Heatley - My Brain is Hanging Upside Down: hilarious, uncomfortable & often moving autobiographical work in which the author examines his experiences with sex addiction, black culture, and his family in great detail.

Dash Shaw - BodyWorld: good PKD homage that (fortunately) doesn't take itself too seriously. Featuring rampant drug use, mind-swapping & aliens.

And, above all, Chris Onstad's semi-daily Achewood strip (online only @ achewood.com). I won't try to describe it here - just start @ the beginning and go, though bear in mind that it doesn't really hit its stride until its second year. At its best, it's probably the funniest thing I've ever encountered, in any medium.

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Music Shit / Re: Raven RIP

« on: October 23, 2013, 09:06:47 AM »

RIP.

Hopefully BtOB pt. 2 actually gets released at some point...

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Music Shit / Re: What Are You Listening To And What Do You Have To Say About it? PART VI

« on: October 23, 2013, 09:00:39 AM »

Circuit Rider LP - meh...

Huh. I don't think I've ever encountered anybody that knows & doesn't like that record, though it does have some weak points. Seems like a no-brainer if you're at all into campy, over-the-top vocalists a la Kim Fowley though (I am).

Recent spins:

Gary McFarland & Peter Smith - Butterscotch Rum: On repeat the past few days. A masterpiece in my opinion. It's arty pop from 1971 in the same realm as the Beatles/Beach Boys/Nilsson (a style I'm usually not crazy about), but very "off". The songs are all very complex structurally, and have weird, funny lyrics and amateur-sounding (read: good) vocals. An urbane, mainstream version of Corky's Debt to His Father perhaps? McFarland is clearly at the height of his powers here as an arranger/producer as well. Tangential: McFarland died after being poisoned in a bar a few months after this was released, and AllMusic gives it 1 1/2 stars, which is often a sign that something is actually good.

Twilight Ritual - Rituals: Recent reish. For whatever reason, I keep trying out so-called "minimal synth" records & can count the ones that don't leave me completely cold on one hand (Fall of Saigon & Tomo Akikawabaya's Mars 12" fwiw). This is another winner. Dense, depressing & repetitious - sorta reminds me of Coil. One that'll take several listens to fully reveal itself...